Without You (There'd Be No Me)
by The.Ink.Splat
Summary: When Sirius Black becomes the new DADA Teacher, Snape isn't happy about that. He lures Black into a bet, he is destined to fail. He is to form a Quidditch Team, with students handpicked by Snape. Oh no! X.x One of them is Miss Frye, who is unwilling to participate What follows is blackmail, a lot of crap being pulled, building trust, friendship and eventually love… Sirius/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** _Yeah! A very old idea coming to life on paper... Always a special moment ;)  
Anyway, I hope you'll like this one, as much as I do writing it.  
For now two chapters, just to get things started...  
Enjoy!_

 _Ps. The girl (OC) I plan on falling in love with Sirius, is of age._  
 _Eventhough she might not have been in the books, she is in my fics'_

 **Without You (There'd Be No Me)**  
A Sirius Black/OC

The Challenge.  
Chapter One

Sighing loudly, he pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"What in Merlin's beard have you gotten yourself into old man?"  
The question at hand, was directed to none other than himself.  
The uttered words bouncing back at him off the walls of the empty classroom.  
Thus leaving an even bigger impression on him.  
For a moment he allowed his body to lean back against his desk, while heaving a sigh.  
Already he could feel the tension building up between his shoulder blades.  
A clear sign of stress.

Surely this could not be happening.  
He absentmindedly rubbed his left shoulder.  
This must be how it feels to be going out of your mind, he concluded. Since when could he lose himself so completely?  
That he wilfully neglected all warning signs.  
He scooted a little further unto his desk, until his feet came loose of the ground. If somebody could see him now,  
they probably would think he had lost it.

That sneaky bat, had set him up!

More importantly,  
he had fallen for it with eyes wide open.

This definitely had not been one of his most brilliant of moves.

The more he thought about the previous event,  
the more frustrated he got.  
Why on Earth did he agree to it.  
How had he, Sirius Black, fallen for something as obvious as this. Realisation hit him hard, as he sat there  
all alone in his classroom,

There was no way out.  
He had given the bat his word…

Well, perhaps there was one way.

To simply give up before the whole thing even got of the ground.  
To put a stop to things before they even got started.  
It would be simple and no time would be wasted on his account.  
But that would mean, he would lose his precious motorcycle, that and his pride.  
He was not sure which one was worse.  
No, there was no way he would let 'The Snivelus' win.

Sirius Black, would not be Sirius Black, if he did not like a challenge.  
He would show that greasy git once and for all, nobody in their right mind would even dare to mess with Sirius Black!  
In the spur of the moment, he got to his feet, and marched towards the door.  
His back and shoulders straight, his hands balled up into fists.  
He let anger fuel him, push him forward.  
As he reached the door though he suddenly realised, it wasn't often he had felt as determinant as he felt now.

At least something good had come from all this.  
He felt somewhat alive again,  
after being locked up in Azkaban for so long.

Ever since he took up the job as the new DADA teacher at Hogwarts, his old rival Snivelus Snape,  
had giving him nothing but trouble.

Of course he had deserved every single bit of his wrath,  
especially after what he and his friends, had done to Snivelus during their teen years.  
But they were grown ups now.  
Surly they could let things rest.  
Forgive each other for what was done.  
Let the past stay, in the past.

As soon as the thought had occurred to him,  
a smile formed on his lips.  
Hah, what a joke!  
Snape and Him,  
acting like a pair of grown ups.  
When hens have teeth, that is!  
In other words;  
Never!

Behind him the door fell into the lock.  
Causing him to stop in his tracks once more.  
The hallway before him was empty.  
But he knew it wouldn't be long now before the students would be arriving.  
And turned Hogwarts once again into a bustling place.  
But students, also meant the start of the bet….  
Pretty soon Snape would introduce him to 'his own protégées'  
'His own' to form into a team.  
He knew what that meant though,  
He was going to get the worst of the worst.  
Students with no talent at all.  
And in doing so, Snap would assure himself of victory.

Shaking his head, he tried to clear himself from all the daunting realisations.  
He had wandered in negativity for far too long.  
It was time he reached back down, deep inside him, and recovered the real Sirius again.  
The person he was before he was locked away.  
His younger self knew by heart,  
that it ain't over until the fat lady sings.  
Anything could happen…

He glanced at his pocket watch to find out the exact time.  
He'd better hurry, the feast was going to start soon.

Of course, Sirius got even with his old nemeses  
whenever he could.  
It was after all, what he did best.  
Soon followed by Snape doing something nasty to him,  
and so on.

He was sure Dumbledore knew about it,  
but figured the old wizard, happily turned a blind eye to it all.  
He probably thought it was, playful banter from both sides.  
Some kind of tradition between the two grown up wizards.

When it fact, it was an old unresolved feud.  
One that would smoulder till the end of days.

Sirius could see him now, the old Headmaster.  
Sitting there up in his office, behind his desk, eating liquorish by the dozen, while gloating about their misery.  
Now why exactly, had he taken this job again?

He had simply been bored out of his mind at home.  
Been looking for something, a hobby, a job, to keep him busy.  
But after a while he continuously ran into the same problem, again and again.  
No other employer wanted to take a gamble on a Ex-Azkaban convict. Even after his innocence was cleared.

So when Dumbledore had come to him, offering a teaching position, he had gladly taken it on with both hands.  
Thankful, that he could finally make himself useful again.  
Even better though, was the fact, that he could do so teaching something he actually had enjoyed learning about himself.  
And that!  
Was even a first to him.

He had never liked learning.  
School on the other hand,  
had been a sanctuary to him.  
Far away from his abusive parents and their down right idiotic believes.  
Pure bloods, who cares if you were one?  
Well, they did.  
Growing up with them had been hell, that was until he had turned sixteen and went to live with his best friend James Potter.  
Those were the days!  
He could not imaging himself being happier.

Things stopped being a constant fight.  
A constant struggle, a constant rebellion.

Not long after his move,  
his family had disowned him,  
but he did not care.  
They had stopped being a family to him years ago.

It had started, when on his first day at Hogwarts,

he was sorted in Gryffindor House.  
A total disgrace to the Noble House of Black.  
Who had produced many a Slytherin.  
During those years he had befriended Mudbloods, Halfbloods and Purebloods alike.  
He even hung out with that filthy 'contaminated' Lupin Boy.  
In short,  
he was not the prefect son,  
they had envisioned him to be.  
Unlike his younger brother Regulus.

All the money in the world would not make him change his point of view.  
He had always been the odd one out.  
And after all these years,  
he was still damn proud to be so!

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Without You (There'd Be No ME)**  
A Sirius Black/OC

Unlikely Friendships  
Chapter Two

It was a Wednesday morning, like any other.  
Our second period of a double hour DADA, had just started.  
Our current assignment, was successfully learning how to use the disarming spell 'Expelliarmus'  
A Spell, we had already learned during our first year.  
But due to our O.W.L's coming up later this year,  
we were revisiting quite a lot of the older spells.  
After all practise makes perfect.  
At least that is what they tell you….

During first period, Professor Black had walked us through the steps,  
on how to use the spell properly.  
Our second hour was meant to be a practice hour.

I partnered up with Kaylee, as always.  
Who was also my partner in crime.  
Together we were unstoppable.  
A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, being friends.  
It was unheard of.  
And yet, here we were pulling it off.

We had met during our first year, on the train to Hogwarts.  
I had found her sitting alone in one of the compartments,  
reading a book called 'Magick Moste Evile'

Ok, to be honest…  
I had heard a large group of the student body gossiping about a new girl.  
A young girl, who was apparently reading a book, that was deemed strange and grotesque in their eyes.  
Why a girl so young was interested in such a dark subject,  
they could not understand.

Yet,  
I wanted too.

It was that, what made me want to meet her personally.  
So when the time came…  
I waltzed straight into her compartment.  
Without thinking things through properly.

I still do that,  
Act before thinking.  
Being Impulsive.  
While she is the complete opposite of me.

From above her book,  
she gave me the most defiantly look I had ever seen.  
A young girl about my age.

Her hair was straight and fell just past her shoulders.  
It was dyed, a deep red colour.  
Never before had I seen someone with hair, that looked like it was on fire. It was bloody brilliant!  
It accentuated her green eyes.  
Eyes that were not smiling at me.

With a goofy grin, I dropped myself down in the seat opposite her.  
"If you are here to make fun of me you can just turn around and go"  
Her comment was meant to drive me away,  
just as the tone of voice she used.

But it just had the opposite effect on me.  
The harder you say 'don't do that'  
The more I want too…  
The harder it'll be to stop me.

"Are you always this cheerful in the morning?" I questioned her.  
For a moment I met her gaze, challenging her to say something back.  
But pretty soon I 'lost' my interest and went back to staring out the window, where unfamiliar landscape moved past.  
For a moment I pretended she wasn't there.  
Yet all this time, the smile, never left my lips.

"Yes am I"  
Her voice, spirited away the silence which hung between us.  
I would find out later, by experience, she answered truthfully that day.

"Are you always this obnoxious?"  
She countered my question, with one of her own.  
Causing me to laugh.  
Our eyes met once again.  
I found her laughing back at me.  
"Guilty as charged"

That was how things got started between us.  
I know it sounds strange, but it was a big thing back then.  
For both of us.

Kaylee knew in which House she belonged,  
long before we even got Sorted.  
Slytherin.  
I on the other hand, had no idea.  
I figured maybe Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.  
But not Slytherin.  
That much I knew.  
We swore, that even if I turned out to be in Gryffindor,  
we would continue being friends.  
Just to spite the rest!

Later on, after the sorting was over,  
we ran into each other again.  
In the hallway while we were heading towards our new sleeping quarters.  
Hers' down in the dungeons, mine at the top in one the towers.  
It was just one look we shared, during that time,  
but we knew we would defy all odds.  
We would show everyone, that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could be come friends.  
The best of friends.

During the first few months, people tried to talk us out of it.  
Some even went as far as threatening us.  
Nevertheless our friendship withstood all,  
and now five years later we were still best buddies.  
Or as we ourselves liked to describe our friendship…  
The female form of a 'Bromance'

Anyway lets get back to the story at hand….

During first period,  
Professor Black had walked us through the steps,  
on how to use the spell properly.  
Our second hour was meant to be a practice hour.

"Remember everyone you pronounce it as followed;  
Ex-PELL-ee-are-mus"  
At the front of the room stood a large crowd of students,  
flocking around our new DADA teacher, Professor Black.  
All aiming to get a little bit more attention from 'our Main Man'  
Many of them, how else could it be, turned out to be girls.  
Nevertheless, that didn't rule out the other sex.  
There were more boys joining his 'fan club' as the weeks past.  
Kaylee and I figured, that pretty soon there would be no one sane left.  
It was a nauseating idea.

"OMG what a bunch of Hypocrites"  
I heard Kaylee mutter under her breath.  
Silently I agreed with her.  
You see when Black just started out as our teacher,  
most students did not want anything to do with the man.  
Prejudice, that's what they were.  
Rumours soon started to spread,  
about the man and the wicked deeds he had done.  
Professor Dumbledore had to be called in,  
to put a stop to all the speculations.  
After that, things pretty much died down.

And over time,  
the ex-Azkaban convict slowly started to win them over.  
He appeared to have quite a bit of humour,  
and he seemed to know his stuff.  
He managed to teach DADA in a lively fashion.  
So that students actually learned something.  
Another plus,  
was that he didn't give as much homework as the other teachers.  
He was making learning fun for us youngsters.

Eventually he was accepted, by the majority of the student body.  
He became one the other Professors.  
They even went as far as to dub him 'cool'

Kaylee and I however, never really cared for rumours.  
Having lived through quite a few ourselves.  
We tried to judge a person on what we saw with our own eyes.  
The past life of someone, was the past.  
And it didn't have to mean, that said person, had not learned from it.  
Making their past not their present.  
But a new present altogether.

I personally didn't like Black all that much to begin with.  
But not the reasons that were mention above.  
Black was handsome, and he knew he was.  
He had this playful flirtiness around him,  
which made him unbearable to deal with.  
At least to me.

What made things worse though….  
Was that Black seemed to be relishing, in all the extra attention,  
he was receiving.  
A personality trait I loaded with a vengeance.

As time past,  
The girls slowly were brave enough to admitted, Black was kind of cute.  
And started acting like mindless bimbos, whenever he was in the room.  
Screaming to get his attention, in their annoyingly high-pitched voices.  
I guess 'bad guys' were in season that year.

Somebody please shoot me!

And the guys wanted to hang out with him,  
because he turned out to be so cool.  
He got the girls, the looks, the charisma and a motorcycle.  
Which in my eyes, was the only thing good about him.  
Not that I wanted him to know that.  
I had learned by now, that anything you say could and would be used against you.

"Oh Professor Black, could you show me how to wave my wand again?" The high pitch voice of Shelley Tain, filled the room.  
The sound alone was enough to make me cringe.  
Oh and don't forget making me nauseous.

Beside me Kaylee quietly laughed, at the audacity of it all.  
Like me she had no patience, dealing with those kind of people.  
While I mimicked throwing up next to her

She playfully shoved me in return, trying to get me to stop.  
I didn't let up though.  
I was currently having a ball, making fun of the rest.  
Until she motioned for me to look at something behind me.

I was just in time to see how Shelley pressed her body up against him,  
and 'innocently' touched his arm at the same time.  
"Oh Professor Black, you are so smart"  
My eyes widened, because of the shameless flirting that was going on right before our eyes.  
My jaw literally plummeted to the ground.

"OMG! No way!"  
I turned back to Kaylee, who was shaking her head furiously.  
"I so did not want to see that" she spoke.

We found ourselves snickering about the audacity of it all.  
The nerve of some girls!  
Openly flirting with your teacher.

Dear Merlin, his world was disappearing more rapidly down the drain, then I had thought possible.

Behind me the girls started squealing again,  
I guess Black was up to his old tricks again.  
Showing off.  
I crossed my arms, and couldn't help but roll my eyes at it all.  
If this continued to keep up, I was so going to leave!  
In front of me Kaylee laughed at my annoyance.  
Causing me to frown.

I would show her!

"Oh Professor Black, please put your large hands on me"  
I ran my hands theatrically down the sides of my body.  
Pretending it was him who touched me.  
And I was the girl who was thoroughly enjoying of his attention.

In front of me, Kaylee was trying desperately not to laugh,  
but was failing miserably all at the same time.  
Tears were streaming down her face.  
Smudging her mascara.  
Which fuelled the 'wickedness' in me, just a tad more.  
Causing me to raise the bar even higher.  
I would go for total meltdown on her part.

"Oh wrap your muscular arms around me and crush me against your broad chest" I cooed.  
It turned out, it had just the effect I had wanted it too have.  
Kaylee was having a meltdown.  
Yes!  
And I decided to push things just a tad further.  
Just because I could.  
"I want to feel the warmth of your bare skin against mine."  
I made sure Kaylee was the only one who heard,  
that ridicules shameful line.  
A gaze of pure bliss of my face.  
"So our bodies can melt together"  
Oh this was just too good…

But all of a sudden….  
My friend stopped laughing all together, and stood up straight.  
Frantically wiping away her tears and mascara.  
Pretending nothing strange was going on.  
At the same time, I felt the blood freeze in my veins,  
cause this could only mean one thing!  
The subject I had been dissing, was standing right behind me.

Crap!

"Now wouldn't that be somewhat inappropriate Miss Frye"  
Came the voice of my DADA teacher, from behind me.  
"Though if you truly want that, I'd be happy to oblige."  
I felt my face grew hot,  
realising what he had been suggesting.  
In front of me Kaylee was smirking once more.  
I wasn't sure though,  
if she had heard the words he had spoken to me,  
or if she openly was enjoying the discomfort his presence brought me.  
Knowing her it could be both.

As the magnitude of his words sunk in,  
I felt him drape his arm over my shoulders, in a lazy kind of way.  
As if it was the most natural thing to do, to a student.  
It felt heavy and was warm against my skin.  
Reminding me painfully of my previous words.  
If only the ground could swallow me whole now…  
Please!

What were the odds of him sneaking up on us? I wondered.  
They couldn't have been a whole lot…

No…  
Something didn't seem right there.  
I was set up!  
Kaylee had been facing his way, and must have seen him coming.  
One look at my friend confirmed my suspicion.  
My friend had pulled one on me.  
Slytherin style.

That little bitch!

To Be Continued….


	3. Chapter 3

**Without You (There'd Be No ME)**  
A Sirius Black/OC

Getting Burned  
Chapter Three

I found myself glancing over my right shoulder,  
to meet the owner, to whom the arm belonged.  
I already knew who was waiting for me at the other end,  
but nevertheless went for the dramatic approach.  
Seconds later I found myself looking into a pair of grey eyes,  
I had so been hoping to avoid these past two hours.  
Not because of obvious reasons,  
because he had caught me dishing him.  
But because now he actually would wanted me to show him my  
'spell performance'  
Oh dear Merlin…

I notice right away he wasn't angry with me, like I thought he would be.  
Which frankly caused me to frown.  
No, he was looking rather smug, with his cocky grin and a raised eyebrow.

Any sane person would be angry right now.  
But here he was, acting like nothing was wrong.  
Then it hit me, he was enjoying my discomfort.  
The sadist!

Well two can play that game….

I eyed his arm with great disgust,  
making sure he noticed,  
just before I shrugged it off.

"Get your filthy hands of me"  
I tried to sound as offensive as possible.  
Yet inside my chest my heart was beating frantically.  
I was crossing a line here, but so was he.  
He was way too close for comfort, and to make things worse…  
He was touching me.  
I don't like people touching me!

Judging by the look on his face thought, it worked.  
His expression changed from seemingly amused, to scowling at me.  
Yes, I definitely scored some points there.  
Good, don't like me! I thought.  
Just the way I like it.  
Black however did not let up so easily.  
No he moved in for the kill…

"I think it's time you stopped lying to yourself about your feelings for me. Remember you were practically begging me earlier."  
My mouth dropped open.  
I didn't know how to respond to that.  
Damn!  
Smitten twice in one day!  
Ones by your best friend, and a second time by your asshole of a teacher.

Laughing loudly to himself,  
Professor Black moved to stand next to Kaylee,  
while placing his hands on his hips.  
Pretending like nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred between the two of us.  
My cheeks were burning though.  
I looked to my friend for help, but found her noncompliant.  
She too appeared be having fun at my expense.  
That's what you get for being friends with a Slytherin, I thought sarcastically.  
I glowered at both of them to the best of my ability.  
To no avail.

A few seconds later though, Black cleared his throat.  
"Now if you girls would be so kind, as to find me the time of day.  
So you can show me, how you are faring on with this spell"  
He shifted his gaze between Kaylee and Me,  
and motioned for us to take our positions.  
We both found ourselves nodding.  
I however wasn't thrilled by his order.

I started to make my way towards the other side of the room.  
But as I walked past Kaylee, I paused for a moment.  
"You could have told me he was coming" I whispered,  
just so Black would not hear us.

Kaylee however smiled at me, amusement in her eyes.  
"Now what would be the fun in that?"  
She questioned me out loud.  
causing me to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Typical Slytherin!"  
I spat while rolling my eyes.  
I turned my back on her and continued my way,  
to the other side of the room.  
Her answer however had not made me mad at her,  
no it had left me smiling.

'Touché' I thought.  
I knew I would have done the same thing, in her place.  
We were friends,  
but that didn't mean we would not 'screw' each other over.  
Today just happened to be my turn.

"Right Miss McCartney, you go first." Black ordered.  
I watched silently, as she reached for the wand at her waist  
and pulled it out gracefully.  
She waved it around a couple times, to get a feel for it.  
When she was ready, she smiled at Professor Black.

Taking the gesture as his cue, he turned to me.  
"Miss Frye are you ready to block?" he asked me.  
I glanced at Black for a second,  
who was still eyeing me somewhat amused.  
And found myself shaking my head.  
I so wasn't ready to block!

I watched as Kaylee readied herself.  
Noticed as she nodded her head once at me.  
Asking me if I was ready  
I found myself nodding back at her,  
just because it was acquired from me.

"Expelliarmus"  
The spell flew from her wand,  
and I felt myself being disarmed almost immediately.  
I watched curiously as my wand landed somewhere near my feet.  
She made it seem so easy.  
I frowned while I picked it up.

"Excellent performance Miss McCartney. Fifteen points to Slytherin.  
You clearly have been practising" From across the room I watched as Kaylee seemed to be glowing under his praise.  
I rolled my eyes at it all.  
Don't get me wrong I was happy for her, but just once I wanted to know how it feels like, being so confident in throwing spells.  
For I wasn't.  
I guess you could say that, my wand and I had a mutual dislike for one another.

Unlike Me, Kaylee, had been practising these spells since the first day she arrived at Hogwarts.  
Right after her first lesson DADA ever, she was hooked.  
Not long after, she learned about the Dark Arts too.  
And fell even more in love with those.  
Her reasoning behind learning both,  
was that if she learned one, she also should learn the other.  
So she knew how to counter/use either of them,  
Light or Dark,  
if ever she got into a fight.

Me,  
however…  
I wasn't so talented using spells.  
I screwed up most of the time and blew up stuff the other half.  
I wasn't really looking forwards to trying my luck now.  
Not with everybody watching.  
Certainly not, after a great performance,  
I would never be able to rein act.

"Miss Frye, whenever you are ready."  
Professor Black called from the other side of the room.  
Whenever I was ready? I thought sarcastically.  
"How about never" I muttered, while taking my stance, raising my wand above my head, like Kaylee had showed me too.  
I hesitated for a moment.  
Kaylee of course noticed, just like she noticed everything else.  
And gave me a reassuring smile.  
'You can do this' she wordlessly told me.  
She gave me courage, just by being herself.

Fuck this, I thought.  
"Expelliarmus" I spoke.  
The tip of my wand started to glow a bright red colour.  
Just like it was suppose to do.  
For a moment I thought I had done it.

But when I noticed Kaylee still holding onto her wand,  
I knew something had gone wrong.  
Seconds later, the spell totally backfired on me,  
causing my wand to explode in my hand.

I yelped, while taking a step back.  
The burning sensation which followed,  
caused me to drop the piece of wood I was still holding onto.  
With a thud, it landed on the ground next to my feet.  
I didn't really register it happening though.  
I was too busy holding onto my wrist.  
The inside of my hand felt like it was on fire,  
as if the skin was slowly peeling away from the bone.  
It was a terrible feeling,

A feeling I knew but all too well.  
I gritted my teeth, as if to steel me from the pain.  
It didn't work.

"F*ck"

Snickers rose from the front of the room, were of course the Black groupies were admiring my failure.  
One warning look from Kaylee though, shut them up.

If my hand had not been hurting so badly,  
I would have kicked all of their asses myself.  
I was down right livid, thanks to my humiliation.  
One would think that after a couple of times you'd get used to it.  
But it never appeared to be getting any easier.  
The humiliation and the burning sensation….

"Stupid girl! You should have rotated clock wise, instead of counter clock wise."  
Professor Black had crossed the room before I even realised he was coming my way.  
It only took him a couple of large paces, before I found him standing right next to me.

"Did you hurt yourself?"  
I was taken aback by how sincere he sounded.  
My eyes shot up to his face, trying to find some sign he was pretending,  
but I found the same kind of distress reflected there, deep within his eyes.  
I didn't understand….

Frowning, I angled my arm away from him,  
but he managed to catch my wrist anyway.  
To do so though, he had to close the remaining space between us.  
When we both realised what was going on though,  
things turned out pretty awkwardly.  
For me that is,  
for Professor Black didn't appear to be affected.

I found myself looking up at him, during that moment of closeness.  
Only to find him looking down at me.  
For just a moment our eyes met.  
Then I looked away, feeling shy.  
I felt him wrap his slender fingers around my tiny wrist,  
bare skin against bare skin.  
His hands, were softer than I thought they would be.  
A far larger then my own.

"Here let me have a look"  
He made to turn my palm upwards, to examine it for any damage done.

I knew but all too well, what he would find there…..  
A palm covered in blisters and coloured bright red.  
I didn't want him to see.

As soon as I realised that,  
I jerked my arm out of his grasp and took a few steps back.  
Out of his reach.  
"NO"  
Surprising the both of us.

Glancing at the clock,  
I noticed it would only take ten more minutes before the bell rang.  
Ten minutes I didn't want to spent in this room.  
I didn't wait for anything else.  
I didn't want him close.  
Didn't want to be scrutinized by him or the other students.  
I just wanted to forget about everything that had just happened.

I went for my bag, while angling myself towards the door.  
Shot Kaylee one last look, that I hoped explained everything.  
And fled the room.  
But not before summoning my wand,  
using wordless magic.

As the door slammed behind me, I felt my muscles relax a bit.  
That didn't mean though, that I could let my guard down.  
For all I knew Black could be hot on my trail already.  
Refusing to let me go.  
I had to get moving, now!  
I slung my bag pack over my shoulder,  
and pulled up the hood of my uniform.  
Shutting myself off from the world.

The hallways were empty, and silence hung over them like a tick blanket.  
I loved it.  
It felt so relaxing.  
But I loved them even more at night.  
When you didn't know what was coming at you,  
as you rounded the next corner.

My hand still felt like it was on fire.  
But instead of a flesh tearing feeling,  
it had lessened into a dull throbbing sensation.  
I opened and closed it a few times, flexing my fingers.  
Trying them out.  
They felt sore.  
When I look at my palm briefly,  
I noticed blisters had started forming.

"F*ck" I muttered.  
It didn't look good.  
This was not going to clean up on itself, I knew that much.

As much as I hated asking somebody for help,  
I knew there was only one person who could help me now.  
Madam Pomfrey, Hogwarts its own private nurse.

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

**Without You (There'd Be No ME)**  
A Sirius Black/OC

Game On  
Chapter Four

The rest of the hour went by in a blur.  
The students however were left to their own devices.  
Kaylee observed it all, from her designated seat at the back of the room.  
After Christine had stormed out, Professor Black had told them to continue with whatever they had been doing.  
She had also noticed how he had slumped down in his chair, not long after and sat there, behind his desk for the remainder of the hour.  
He didn't appear to be paying much attention to anything.  
Even when the bimbos resumed their antics, trying to get Black to notice them, he didn't budge.  
Eventually, even they, went back to duelling amongst themselves.  
Things slowly turned back to normal, or as normal as things could be.  
It was a strange sight to behold, Kaylee thought.  
Very strange indeed.

At the front of the room, Black felt like someone defeated.  
She had screamed at him, when he touched her.  
What had that been about? he wondered.

Just a few weeks ago, things had started to look up.  
People were actually starting to trust him, to like him actually.  
And yet, when he had placed his hand on Christine her shoulder, she had acted like he was contaminated or something.  
Was she still afraid of him?

He didn't even look up as the bell rang, signalling the end of class.  
Bag packs were being stuffed, and chairs were being pushed back, their legs scrapping against the wooden floorboards.  
A sign that his class slowly had started to bustle out.  
"Miss McCartney, stay for a minute after class, will you"  
he found himself saying.

A large group had already assembled by the doorway, and somewhere in the midst of it all, someone had stopped walking.  
He noticed as the red head turned around and slowly made her way towards the front.  
A frown marring her face.  
He knew he had surprised her, heck he had also surprised himself.  
He knew however, if he was to silence his mind,  
he had to have some answers.  
Better sooner, then later.  
And Kaylee was the only one around at the moment,  
to clarify the situation to him.

"Please sit down Miss McCartney." he motioned to one of the vacant chairs in his near vicinity.  
Hoping she would be willing to comply.  
After all, you never knew with a Slytherin.  
And judging by what he had seen of her during classes,  
she was a mysterious one at that.  
By now he had figured out the majority of the students.  
Yet Kaylee was something different.  
She and her friend were a hard bunch to pin down.  
Or perhaps, he was just trying too hard to understand something,  
which didn't need to be understood.  
Except by the persons in question.

He waited patiently until the last person had filed out,  
before he stood up and closed the door.  
As he turned around, he was surprised to find Kaylee already leaning against one of the empty desks up front.  
Well…at least it was something, he concluded.  
He wasn't sure though, how to approach the situation.  
Should he sugar coat things, or should he just be straight forward with her?  
So he just started somewhere random…  
"That was some excellent wand skills Miss McCartney..."

"Cut the crap Professor, we both know we're not here to talk about that"  
her sudden comment catching him off guard.  
He noticed she was scrutinizing him from out of the corner of her eyes.  
Her body not fully angled his way.  
Well at least she is not beating around the bush, he thought.  
Unlike himself, he thought somewhat ashamed.  
It was a welcoming change for once.

"Fine then, Miss McCartney I was hoping you could explain to me what exactly happened back there?" He questioned,  
as he made his way towards the front of the room.  
He had hoped she would be willing to share some of the details with him,  
however the girl in front of him looked reluctant to say the least.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you. Chris wouldn't want me too"  
Kaylee answered after mulling things over for a bit.  
Well, well, a loyal Slytherin… Sirius thought.  
That was new!

Black however did not let up.  
He did something he thought not possible.  
"…Please, I'd appreciate it if you would…" he pleaded.  
He was surprised at how feeble his voice had sounded.  
Even Kaylee looked somewhat surprised.  
However it was soon replayed, by a look of understanding.  
She appeared to understand how much it meant to him.  
Sighing, he watched as she put down her book bag,  
and sat down on the chair nearest to her.

"…So this happens often? Her wand exploding on her"  
Black found himself asking after some time.  
In the meantime he had pulled up a chair of his own, turn it around and was currently leaning his arms on the backrest.  
The girl in front of him only nodded.

Kaylee had not told him everything, just the basic's.  
Just enough to make him understand.  
She had felt bad for him, when she noticed how down he felt.  
She shared some with him, even though Christine wouldn't like it.  
If anything,  
Chris wouldn't talk to her for a few days,  
But that was a problem she would face, as soon as it would arise.

Black looked thoughtful for a moment.  
"And the fact that she wouldn't let me touch…." he tried.  
Although dreading the answer, he had to ask…

"Didn't mean a thing. She just hates having random people close to her. It changes when she gets to know you a bit more." Kaylee answered.  
He felt better already.  
Like a weight had lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank you Miss McCartney, for your honestly."  
Kaylee nodded her head, while getting up to her feet ready to leave.

"Before you leave though, can you give this to her…"  
That said, Black started to scribble down something on a piece of paper in front of him.  
and handed it to her.  
"I take it you know where she is right now?"

*At the hospital wing*  
"Poppy are you in?"  
My voice sounded a little loud in the seemingly empty room.  
Almost immediately though, I could hear someone moving around in the backroom.  
I didn't have to wait long, before I was greeted by the familiar face of Hogwarts its most competent nurse.

She sighed, as soon as she spotted me standing in the doorway.  
"Not again Christine."  
but motioned for me to come in anyway.

It didn't surprise me that Poppy did not need to see my face, to know it was me.  
Guess you could say I had a free subscription, when it came to receiving medical treatment from her.  
For I came in at least twice, every three weeks.

"I'm afraid so" I answered,  
While closing the door behind me.

It all started, halfway through my first year.  
Just like today, a spell had backfired on me.  
Afterwards I had been rushed to the Hospital Room,  
and met Poppy for the first time.  
We weren't on first name bases, back then,  
but it develop like that over time.

As the years past I was in more often.  
People were not ever surprised anymore,  
when they heard I was at the Hospital.

"What did you do now dear?"  
she asked sounding uniquely concerned.

"Just a spell backfiring on me, again"  
I put the emphasise on the word 'again'  
She was standing in front of me now.  
Peering up into my face, which was hiding in the shadows of my hood.

"Take off that awful thing dear. You should know by now I like to look my patient in the eye, while I'm working on them."  
Yes, that I knew….  
After all, I came her all the time, after I pulled some stupid stuff.  
She was the one who always knew how to make the things I screwed up, turn better again.  
Sighting loudly I pulled down my hood.

"Now let me see" she ordered.  
I quickly showed her the inside of my right hand.  
But before I could pull it back though, she took hold of my wrist, just so she could look at it more closely.  
I feared her reaction, but she didn't even flinch. She had seen more gruesome things over the years.

"MMMhh…right….right…I see… Sit down dear, I just know I got some special ointment for that somewhere. Wait here, while I'll go and get it"  
She motioned for me to take a seat on one of the beds, before she disappeared into one of her cupboards.  
I waited patiently, while I heard her move around  
some unknown bottles and flasks.  
After a while she appeared to have found what she had been looking for though, and came back with a bottle in her hands.  
Inside it, the contents were a sickly green colour.  
Poppy smiled, as she saw me eying the bottle in disgust.  
She got that a lot from her patients.  
She didn't say anything though, as she sat down next to me on the bed.

"Now hold out your hand"  
Almost as soon as the ointment made contact with my skin, the pain disappeared.  
It was like a miracle, or magic of course….

She eyed me for a moment,  
"Did you speak to Dumbledore about this?"

"Yes I did." I lied,  
all the while, keeping my eyes trained on my injured hand.  
I was afraid of what he might tell me.  
Poppy however did not believe me.

"You should"  
She saw right through my lies.  
She didn't judge me though, she just told me to get it over with.  
Or else, she would go to Dumbledore on my behave.  
"Now just sit like that for a few minutes. I'll come and see how you're doing in five"

So there I was, waiting….  
When the door suddenly opened again,  
And in walked Kaylee.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you"  
I glanced towards the door and watched Kaylee coming towards me.  
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her.  
As if she had trouble finding me!  
She knew were I would be…

"Where else would I be?" I joked, as I waved my injured hand through the air.  
"I thought you were smart?"

Kaylee didn't respond to my question. She knew not to bother.  
"How's your hand?" she asked sounding concerned.

I shrugged,  
"Nothing Poppy can't fix"

"Professor Black is looking for you, by the way"  
Her comment made me scowl.

"Of course he is!"  
"Doesn't that guy have anything better to do?" I growled.

"He said to tell you, that he wants to see you tonight at 20:45"

I frowned.  
"Detention?" I questioned out loud.  
Kaylee only nodded.

"Of course, he wants to see me" I rolled my eyes.  
"Then he also should know, I don't intent on showing up at said meeting." I added.  
From out of the corner of my eyes, I looked at Poppy.  
Noticed how she 'pretended' not to listen in on our conversation.  
But I knew all had been lost, when the name Black had been uttered.

Kaylee chuckled.  
"He also anticipated you would say that" Kaylee confirmed.  
"He told me to tell you, if that was the case, he would come to collect you personally."  
I crossed my arms and pushed my lips together.  
I didn't like where this was going.

Next to us Poppy laughed.  
See!  
Told you she was listening.  
I shot her a look.

But she wasn't fazed.

"Seems that Black got you figured out"  
The older woman was smiling as she came our way.  
A towel in one of her hands, probably to clean the green goo of my hand.

Kaylee openly agreed with Poppy.  
My scowl deepened if possible even more.  
And even I had to admit that Black, seemed to know me a bit too well.  
That didn't mean though that I would throw in the towel.  
I wasn't planning on giving up so easily.  
If he was so set on having me in detention….  
He would have to find me first….  
And if he couldn't find me….  
There was no way! He would be able to drag me there himself!

This game was so on!  
I didn't realise I was grinning until I found two people eying me suspiciously.

"I'll see you in ten" I told Kaylee.

"Don't forget we've got Divinations" she called back at me.  
The realisation of being stuck in that room for a whole hour made me cringe.  
But at least it meant we would not be waving our wands next hour. Which came as a relief to me.

"Now let me see that hand of yours" Poppy ordered.  
Without further bantering I gave it to her, and watched with interest as she wiped up a tiny part of the goo.  
This was it the moment of truth….  
Beneath it was normal clean skin.  
The blisters were gone!  
They had magical disappeared…

Yeah!  
"Thanks Poppy!"  
The nurse laughed happily.  
Seemingly just as relieved as I was, to be rid of them.

"But Seriously dear…." Poppy spoke suddenly,  
while slow but steadily continuing to rub away the goo from my hand.  
"I think you've finally met your match, in Professor Black"

She stopped working for a moment, to look me straight in the eye.  
I shot her a look, which told her I thought she was crazy.  
It just wasn't possible.  
I was unbeatable in my field, and would stay that way.  
And no smart ass Professor would change that.  
"As If!" I countered.

Poppy however looked at me with a mysterious smile on her face.  
Like she knew something I didn't.  
"Maybe… But I've known Black for far longer then you have, and let met tell you dear…  
Black has pulled every stunt you can think of, back when he was in school.  
Him and his friends. There is nothing you cannot come up with, that he has not done before."

I shot poppy a sceptic look.  
Maybe… she was right.  
Maybe she wasn't.  
But I was a person who liked to see things with her own eyes.  
Before believing…  
If Black is truly better then me,  
Then let him prove it!

"Guess that means…..Game on!"

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:** _After a long and hard struggle, here is chapter 5 for you guys._  
 _Thanks for being so patient with me!_  
 _Special thanks to 'RawMateriel' for her reviews._  
 _In answer too your 'questions', I'm planning on explaining everything in the up coming chapters._  
 _Also I've added 'the fact that the main character is off age' in the first chapter. Which automatically means that Kaylee is too._  
 _Thank so much for your comments, they manage to keep me on track 'with this story', they point out to me, what needs to be explained more and what does not._

 **Without You (There'd Be No ME)**  
A Sirius Black/OC

Collisions!  
Chapter Five

I was humming to myself, while climbing up the many stairs which lead to the top of the North Tower.  
It was once again time for Divination with the Slytherins' which meant, an hour of complete and utter boredom.  
The only positive thing was, that Kaylee and I were in the same class.  
Don't get me wrong,  
I actually find Divination interesting,  
What, if these prophecies were true for example… I thought.  
It was fascinating to ponder about, to lose yourself in completely.

What would it feel like to have such powers?  
Would it feel like a burden…  
Probably, yes.

Yet the way Trelawney taught her classes was down right disappointing.  
By the third week, I had pretty much lost all hope, of ever achieving anything during those hours.

Of ever learning anything interesting.  
I was better off teaching myself…  
Which says it all, if you ask me.  
You see, I rarely take the time to learn things on my own,  
and even if I do, it has to be wildly interesting to keep my attention for a long period of time.

The spiral case seemed endless, as I climb it.  
Pretty soon my calves were protesting and I was out of breath.  
Why this castle didn't have a elevator, was beyond me.  
With all the Magic in the world, would it kill Dumbledore to conjure up an elevator?!  
Or at least an escalator.  
I thought that would be a brilliant idea!

Kaylee was probably waiting for me to show up, by now.  
Praying I would, most likely.  
Still I was in no mood to rush.  
If anything I had hoped to skip the hour, but as I already had to serve detention tonight…..  
(to which I SO WASN'T going to show up)  
I figured not to push my luck.  
There is no way I was rooting for a double hour.

So up the stairs I went, for a most glamorous hour, of delightful fun.  
On the other hand, something interesting always did manage to happen during Divination.  
If it wasn't Trelawney predicting that someone would die in the next 24 hours, it would be someone passing out, thank to the excruciating heat.  
That fire underneath the mantelpiece, always seemed to be burning.  
One would almost think that Trelawney was constantly cold.

My prediction;  
She had foreseen her own death, frozen… getting killed in a blizzard or something like that…  
And was now desperately, trying to prevent that from ever happening.

The thought alone, brought a smile to my lips. Like I said, Divination is never boring, at least it isn't to me.  
I can always make things more interesting, using my imagination.

By the time I had reached the top of the stairs, I had already taken off most of my excessive clothing.  
My cloak and scarf for example, were left behind in one of the window sills. I would collect them again when class was over.

In total, I was ten minutes late, when I entered the room through a circular trapdoor.  
Almost immediately I was assaulted by the tropical temperatures inside.  
It took away my breath, and for a moment all I could do was stand there.  
Getting adjusted to it.  
"Dear Lord!" I muttered.  
I would never get used to this!

A narrow hallway, connected the room I had just entered to the classroom. The room was so dimly lit you had to squint.  
The curtains were drawn, and the windows were all closed.  
The lamps, that were present in the room, were draped with dark red scarves.

I wondered suddenly, if Trelawney might be a vampire.  
At least it would explain why she was always cold, and didn't want to let in any sun light.  
She and Snape appeared to have more in common than they both realised. I saw a match made in heaven!  
I don't think Trelawney would mind, having a piece of the Dungeon Master. Though I doubt Snape would be so happy about it.  
I thought of how he would react, when Trelawney someday might throw herself at his feet and found myself smiling wickedly.  
It definitely was something I desperately wanted to see with my own eyes.

As I entered the classroom, I made sure to be on the look out for Trelawney.  
I didn't want her to surprise me from out of nowhere and scare the crap out of me.  
She would so abuse this opportunity, saying that she predicted I was going to be late today.  
I would do anything to prevent that from happening.

I didn't run into her though.  
I was lucky.

Kaylee was seated at our usual table, at the back of the room, at the far left.  
She waved at me, as soon as she spotted me sneaking in.  
Which I knew meant ´the coast is clear´  
I, of course waved back, because that's what normal people do.  
Ignoring the stares I was getting from my fellow classmates, I made my way up the stairs, towards my regular seat.  
Hey Lee" I greeted her, dropping down next to her into my usual seat.  
"So what are we doing today?" I asked, stealing a glance at my fellow students.  
That's when I noticed everybody wasn't really doing much of anything.

"Tea Leaves" my best friend answered almost immediately.  
The answer felt like a major let down to me.  
We had done so many of them all ready.  
It's not like anyone of us, ever predicted something that actually came true.  
Nothing good ever came from reading them!  
"Not again!" I groaned while face palming.  
Sighing loudly I shook my head.  
"Lets' get out of here"

But before either of us could move, Trelawney shuffled through the beaded curtain, which separated this room from the next.  
In her arms she was carrying many tiny bags of tea leaves.  
I'm pretty sure, there were nine bags for each of us, if not more.  
What was she going to do with all of them? I wondered, as she dumped them down on her desk. Some of them, even pouring over the side of it, onto the ground.  
Kill us?

'I predict death: smothered by teabags'

"Now everybody, come collect your tealeaves"  
Trelawney pushed her tick glasses a little higher op her nose, and looked at all of us a bit too eagerly. When nobody moved she tried again.  
Only this time waving her hands, begging us closer. "Come Come children, together we'll explore the secrets our future might hold for us"

Not for the first time, I wondered if this woman had problems staying away from ´the catnip´ Or Mushrooms perhaps.  
If anything, I would say she was constantly high on some sort of drug.  
After that invitation though, most of my classmates started to get up and made their way towards the front of the classroom.

I however, turned towards my best friend and gave her one of my most famous looks.  
´You got to be kidding me!´

After most of the students had gotten their teabags and returned to their seats, I found it was time to go and get my own.  
I couldn't help but sigh loudly as got to my feet. I was so done with reading tealeaves, nevertheless I kept my mouth shut as I went to get some.  
However, next to me I heard Kaylee muttering something along the lines of; "I swear, if she so much as mentions seeing death in my tea leaves, I will set fire to her remaining stash."

I couldn't suppress the snort which automatically followed up such crude words, earning me quite a few curious looks. That was Kaylee for you alright. Even after five years, she still managed to surprise me.  
By the time I had reached the bottom of the stairs, a mental picture of it, already had lodged itself inside my brain.  
I saw a huge bonfire in my minds eye, consisting mostly of bags filled with tealeaves and Trelawney desk.  
What a sight that would be!

"Remember, I taught you all how to perform a reading."  
Oh right, I thought, remembering last weeks lesson.  
Kaylee however shot me a confused look.  
Her facial expression alone was enough to make me laugh.  
To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised.  
All Kaylee cared for was DADA. Oh and don't forget about Potions, which was taught by her idol, Professor Snape.  
I couldn't help but wonder sometimes, if she was 'interested' in the older wizard.

Yet, she had been in an ongoing relationship, for about a year now, with her boyfriend Adam. He was a Slytherin too of course, but unlike us, he was currently in sixth year. Just one more year and he would graduate. The two of them together, appeared to be suited perfectly for each other.  
They might even end up married to one another someday.  
Or so I hoped they would be.

Even though Kaylee her parents might not support such a union,  
I would.

You see Adam was Pure Blood.  
But in the eyes of many…  
His family was considered ´Blood Traitors.´

While Kaylee also came from a long line of Pure Bloods.  
They had been and still were, big supporters of 'You Know Who'

Obviously, her parents didn't like her dating the boy.  
You did not need to be a rocket scientist to know that.  
Yet luckily for Adam, Kaylee did not share much, if not anything, of their believes.  
She lived by her own rules, or she tried to do so, as much as possible.

Personally, I think I brought up the whole;  
'I think you're in love with Professor Snape' bit, countless of times.  
But every time she would simply laugh it off.  
Saying it held no ´special´ meaning at all.  
But even she knew, there was a 'fine' 'fine' line between admiration and love.  
That line could be crossed more easily, then it could be balanced on….

In many areas Kaylee deflected from being a true Slytherin.  
She went her own way, lived by her own rules  
Yet when it came to standing behind her Head of House,  
she suddenly became fiercely loyal.

I would describe the relationship as in;  
´Loyal to a fault´ even.

Time and time again I called her a hypocrite.  
For not being like the others in her house…  
In return she only pointed out to me that, I on my turn, lack all honour when it came to Head of Gryffindor House, Professor McGonagall.  
Truthfully, I didn't even know what the word honour meant, when it came to that woman.  
I didn't like her, and she for one shared that opinion.

Anyway back to our lesson.  
"You don't have a clue, to what we are about to do, now do you?"  
I asked Kaylee, as we made our way back to out seats.

"NoPe" she answered while popping her P´s  
In the meantime, two empty tea cups and a teakettle, filled to the brim with hot water, had appeared on our table.  
The rest we had to do ourselves.  
I glanced at Kaylee while eying the teakettle at the same time.  
"Shall we then?" she questioned me.

I poured the both of us some hot water. After that we added our own tealeaves and 'became one with our tea'  
As Trelawney so often had described to us. Meaning, we had to take our time, preparing our hot beverage.  
To be honest, it could be a very relaxing class, that is if you were taking this shit seriously.  
Next to me someone obviously wasn't!

After some time our tea was cool enough to drink, and soon we were left with a bunch of tealeaves and a tiny bit of tea left in the cup.  
I was right handed, which meant I drank using my left hand.  
Just like Trelawney told us last week.  
It somehow was important.  
Then I gave three good swirls, before automatically reaching for my saucer and placing it upside down on top of my cup.  
Next step was turning it over,  
to weed out any extend of fluids and tealeaves.  
Last but not least, I waited three full breathes just as I was suppose to do.  
Before returning the cup in its natural position.

Next to me I noticed Kaylee mimicking my every move.  
Apparently she had not been paying attention during our previous lesson.  
For I had noticed, she drank with her right hand, and after our Professor pointed that out to her she had to start over from scratch.  
I waited patiently for her to catch up with me, while every once in a while explaining to her what she was suppose to do next.  
Not because I was being such a perfect Gryffindor,  
but because I wasn't the most patient person around.  
If she messed up again, we would could be here till the end of days.

In the end we both ended up with a 'messy' cup.  
Which we swapped.  
I was suppose to read hers and she was suppose to read mine.  
Even though I already had enough time to read my own.

It was during that time that Trelawney came round for a second time.  
Her interest instantly sparked, as soon as she saw what was about to go down. The reading of our fortunes.  
She was clearly interested in how we would be fairing.  
And knowing Kaylee, it was my turn first.

Luckily for me, I had some practise in reading leaves.  
Unlike my friend, I somewhat enjoyed practising the art.

"First of all, I see the letter S in your leaves… probably a name of a town or person perhaps…" I started off easy.  
"Then there is a cross, which might mean, that you have to make a decision soon.  
At the left of your cup, I see the number two, possibly meaning two different outcomes. One good, one bad." I stated, thereby ending my prediction. Trelawney looked pleased for some reason,  
Might it be that she found my prediction worthy? I wondered.  
If so, it pleased me thoroughly.  
At least there was something I did right.

Then she turned to Kaylee.  
Who I knew, did not care for the subject all together.  
In her opinion, you were in charge of writing your own future  
and it couldn't be predicted.  
We did however, share a mutual interest in the subject. Though with Kaylee it was more theoretical, than by practise. She just wasn't the kind of person to follow a prediction blindly. To trust it solely, on it, ever coming to pass. From her point of view, predictions were a waste of time.

Merlin, was I interested in what she would come up with! So much that I turned in my seat, just to hear her speak.  
"Quite possibly Death, Disaster, and Diarrhea. Might not possibly be in that same order." Kaylee kept her voice flat as she drilled up the many possibilities. Deliberately, making no sense what so ever.

Causing me to raise an eyebrow at her.  
What are you trying to pull? I wondered.

Next to me, Trelawney shook her head as she leaned forward, reaching for my cup. Without saying anything, she took it out of Kaylee's grasp and made to examine it for herself.  
I watched as Kaylee frowned in response, while I waited, feeling slightly nervous, on 'her verdict' of my cup.  
Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

"You appear to be part of a tangled woven web. If persistent you'll manage to unravel it."  
She eyed me for a moment, as if wanting to warn me personally.  
"The circle at the upper right sight, means betrayal.  
Yet what goes around comes around."

"Which means Karma is my personal friend!" I concluded smiling.  
I found Trelawney nodding at my assumption, which caused me to brighten up even more.  
At least there was something I was good at.  
Even though, Divinations might not be important to many, it felt like an achievement to me.  
"Is there a love interest?" The Professor suddenly interrupted my train of thought.  
I noticed how she was carefully examining inside my cup.  
Immediately I shook my head.  
"No" The thought alone was enough to make me chuckle.

"Why do you see anything" Kaylee interrupted me quite rudely.  
Resulting in me shooting her a warning look.  
Now why did I get the feeling, she was up to something. My spidey sense was tingling.

The Professor however, ignored my best friend, and while pursing her lips, she gave the cup another hard look.  
"Well it's possible." she answered. "That is if you let him find you, if you learn how to trust." With those last words she concluded the reading.  
Looking at me kindly, she placed the cup back on the wooden desk in front of me.

Her words left me baffled.  
Nevertheless, I managed to thank the Professor for her reading. Realising fully well, that for once, it had not sounded so strange.  
There was no Death, no Disaster, in my future.  
Which she normally might have predicted, adding to my confusion.  
And….To be completely honest…..  
I had kind of already, foreseen love in my cup, as I waited for Kaylee to catch up with me.  
I knew she was telling the truth.

Professor Trelawney turned to Kaylee then, shaking her head in disappointment.  
"That was quite an easy reading. As I've noticed since the start of the first year,  
I'm afraid you simply don't possess the aptitude for the fine arts of Divination, Miss McCartney"

I watched as a dark look swept across my friends face, while at the same time, alarm bells were going off inside my head.  
I could see it already, something dangerous, brewing just below the surface.  
Knowing Kaylee, she would not take this lying down.  
I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Kaylee's anger.

Even though my friend did not give a rats ass about the subject.  
She absolutely detested it, when someone insulted her magical abilities.  
Meaning; said person would have so pay…

Kaylee narrowed her eyes. "Fine art, hah! Don't make me laugh. All you've ever done is predict death and despair!" she spat, glaring furiously at the Professor. Of course if you 'predict' it often enough to as many people as possible, it's bound to be true at some point!" Kaylee crossed her arms, a haughty expression on her face as she sat back in her chair. She smirked.  
"Dumbledore must have felt sorry for you; I can't imagine any other reason why he would have given you this position otherwise, you talent less witch!" she finally finished, grinning triumphantly.

A sudden hush fell over the crowd so absolute, that I thought I could heard a quill slipping from it owners grasp, and falling to the floor.  
Students Gryffindor and Slytherin alike, appeared to be in shock.

As her words sank in, I noticed how the face of Professor Trelawney started to twitch uncontrollably. How her eyebrows pinched together, and overwhelming sadness clouded over her gaze. Tears rapidly build up, threatening at any moment, to spill down her cheeks.  
The sight alone, was enough to tear a hole through my soul. Honestly, Trelawney wasn't my friend, but she didn't deserve this either.  
No one did!

My eyes found their way back over to Kaylee, almost automatically.  
Who still sat in her usual seat, leaning back, looking all smug. Clearly admiring her handy work… reveling in its outcome.

Something just snapped…

As in reflex, I felt myself push back the chair, sending it crashing against the stone wall behind me.  
I found myself straightening up to my full height, while at the same time stomping my foot down on the wooden floor boards below me. emphasising my anger with her.  
"GOD DAMN YOU KAYLEE!" I roared!

Kaylee tore her gaze away from Professor Trelawney to look at me wide-eye as I yelled at her.  
The shock, lasting all but a few seconds, before I noticed her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.  
"What?" She questioned me somewhat defensively.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL 'WHAT!'" I shouted, while deliberately putting the emphasise on the word 'what'  
At the same time I motioned towards Professor Trelawney, who was balling her eyes out.  
Clearly she was unable to get herself together, and stop this all from happening.  
Don't you dare tell me this is nothing, I thought, while seething with anger.

Kaylee glanced at Professor Trelawney, letting out an irritated huff.  
She opened her mouth to say something, but after casting another look at me she seemingly decided against it.  
She then just shrugged her shoulders at me, as if to say 'whatever' before starting to gather her things.

I watched silently as she gathered up her belongings, and started to make her way towards the exit. She didn't meet my eyes during the entire process, not that I wanted her too. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but sometimes she just goes too far. It's that damn Slytherin in her, that cause so much trouble. On our own, we wreck havoc. Together, our personalitlies balance each other out.  
Guess that's what make our relationship work...

I knew that after a few hours, things between us, would be normal again.  
However, that did not mean, I would let her get away with this. Just before she disappeared from the room, I called on her, one last time.  
"Kaylee, you can expect your ass, to land in detention for this."

The bell rang after that, sparing me the inquisitive stares of my fellow classmates. One would think that after five years, they would understand how we worked, from time to time. But no, we were still looked upon, as if we were some kind of novelty.

I slumped back down in my chair, ignoring Trelawney for a second. I just needed to calm my racing heart, before I could deal with her. Otherwise I might find myself snapping at her.  
And unlike I said before, she did deserve it….

I was angry, angry at the fact that I should not have been the one to stand up against my friend. She should have! She was the Teacher, not me. Her integrity had been under attack, the least she could have done was sentencing a detention.  
Pinching it bridge of my noise, I found myself sighing deeply once more.  
This was so infuriating…

A loud sob, was what brought me out of my reminiscing. Returning my attention once again, to the problem at hand. I felt myself grimacing, as I realised what I was about to do. Sighing one last time, I rose to my feet.  
"Let's get you to Dumbledore, now shall we."

*Knock* *Knock*  
Luckily Trelawney knew the password, which led us up to Dumbledore's office.  
Or else, I still would be standing there, with her, in front of the statue of the Eagle.

"Come in" a voice came from the other side of the door.

"Professor, do you have a moment for us?" I asked as I pushed a reluctant Trelawney through the door and into his office. Within seconds, on seeing her, the old wizard shot up out of her chair and made his way over to us. Clearly recognizing the graveness of the situation.

At least one thing was going according to plan...

After that, it was on to History of Magic, and after that Ancient Runes. Both classes were taught together with the Hufflepuffs.  
Like DADA, most of the lessons consisted of recaps of the previous years. They were practical hours if one wanted to catch up on lost sleep.  
Today's subject of History of Magic, was once again The Giant Wars.  
In a previous year, I had already checked out a book about the subject, from the Library.  
It was way more interesting than Professor Binns could ever share it with the rest of us.  
I started checking out books, and reading them by myself, back in third year, when the Witch Hunts were being covert.  
And decided, I liked it better went I read about it, then when Binns told us in person. His lessons were just as dead as he was.  
So in the mean time I did some mind exercises of my own.  
For instance; losing myself in a daydream.

*Dinner Time*  
The Great Hall was a busy place during dinner time.  
A time for everyone to come together and share a nice and hardy meal.  
It was also a great place to hide from a certain someone, and yet at the same time it wasn't.  
Though the crowd is enormous enough, to get lost in. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, sitting at the Ravenclaw table were bound to stand out.  
In other words, it didn't take long for me to feel Black his eyes on me.

I was sitting with my back to Black, hiding behind the person next to me.  
I figured as long as I don't acknowledge him, he couldn't tell me personally that I had detention with him.  
I figured, if he ever asked me why I did not show up, it was because Kaylee had forgotten to tell me.

"He's still looking is he?" I asked.  
My best friend stopped shovelling food in her face and craned her neck, in such a way, that could only draw attention to her.  
It was excruciatingly painful to watch, and it earned her quite a bit of attention from some of the Ravenclaw students.  
Yet she did so for me.

"DON'T LOOK!"  
I nearly jumped over the table, trying to grab hold of her.  
Wanting desperately to turn things into a normal looking situation.  
Yet in doing so I sent my own plate spiralling towards my goblet, causing the inevitable to happen. The two objects collided with one another, sending my goblet with a one way ticket towards the floor.  
A loud crash was what followed.

From across the table Kaylee looked at me funny.  
"I would say he's watching you alright… In fact they all are"

Oh Merlin, I could just die from humiliation.  
I wondered if I could just stay down here, laying face down on the table.  
Never getting up again.  
Or perhaps the ground would open and swallow me whole…  
If only…

I felt so…  
"stupid Stupid Stupid! SHIT!"Still, it didn't take long though, for things to die down again,  
even though it couldn't be soon enough in my eyes.  
It still took too long.  
I didn't need to ask Kaylee, if Black was looking, for I just knew he was.  
How couldn't he be?

Luckily the rest of dinner was uneventful, that was until desert was served.  
I had been enjoying my lemon/mango ice cream, when my attention was suddenly drawn to a large barn owl sweeping in, which I found rather odd.  
It was way past Mail Time, which was normally during breakfast.

I had a bad feeling about this, as I noticed it heading my way.

It perched itself right in front of me, in my bowl filled with frozen delight.  
One big mess was what followed, showering me, and the people next to me, in it.

"God Damn Bird!" I snapped, as it eyed me angrily.  
Well don't look at me you dumb bird! I thought.  
You're the one that has trouble landing!  
I made to reach for the note tide around it leg, but it evaded me easily, yet at the same time launched for me.

"Aw!" It pecked me!  
That goddamn Bird peaked me!  
I made to grab for it once again, only this time a little harsher.  
Unfortunately for me, it flew away just in time.  
This time, somehow however managing to land on top of my shoulder. Defiling me with its filthy claws.

From that position it managed to peck me again.  
"AWH!"  
This time however I refrained from grabbing it, and made to untie the note it was carrying.  
Clearly the bird would shoo if I untied the letter.

Curse you bird….

The note was short and simple.  
Scribbled in a nearly fashion.  
It read as followed;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Detention, tonight.  
20:30 at my office.

My Jaw literally dropped to the table.  
Kaylee, who had noticed my reaction shot me a quizzical look.  
Automatically I found my gaze wandering over to the Head Table.  
Until I found the person, whom I so fiercely hated in that moment.  
He met my gaze straight on, which somehow didn't surprise me.  
If anything, I would be disappointed if he hadn't.  
But things would be so much easier if he had not.  
It felt like he challenged me.  
At the same time I pushed the note, across the table towards Kaylee. Who took it from me and read it. Almost directly after, she started laughing.  
What a great friend she turned out to be…

"HAHAHAHAH, he really got you there."  
I found myself glancing at her for a second, and stuck out my tongue.  
"I guess now you have to show up"  
When I looked back towards Black, I noticed he was still looking at me.  
A smirk playing on his lips.  
So much for my current plan, I thought.  
"I'd rather die"

I stood up, never taking my eyes of Black.  
Sending him, I hope, the best death glare I could muster.  
It earned me a raised eyebrow.  
"I'll see you later…" I told Kaylee while turning back to her.  
In doing so turning my back on Black.  
It would be the last her would see of me.

He can shove the whole detention bit up his ass!  
I will not show up!  
I would not!  
The whole world could go to hell!

I was about to storm out the Great Hall.  
But not before glancing one last time at Black.  
My eyes burning with hate.

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note:** _Finally Chapter Six, after all this time. Took me long enough, if I say so myself.  
_

 **Without You (There'd Be No ME)  
** A Sirius Black/OC

Not in the mood Tonight  
Chapter Six

I locked myself up in my room, for the remainder of the evening.  
For the first time in a long time, I used the excuse that I had homework that needed to be done, and did not want to be disturbed.  
HahahaH!  
Guess we can all imagine the looks, on my fellow Gryffindors faces, when they heard that dumb excuse coming out of my mouth.  
They knew I never did any schoolwork, unless I absolutely needed too.  
And if I did them, it was mostly during class.  
Nevertheless, they didn't say anything about it.

Just to be clear on the subject;  
I actually did make my homework that evening, I guess I used it as an excuse, to take my mind off of things.  
With things meaning; The detention, which was rapidly drawing nearer.  
I wasn't in the mood to meet Professor Black tonight.  
I just didn't know what to make of him, and that scared me.  
It made me feel nervous, and not in control of the situation, two feelings I hated with a vengeance.

I guess overall, I thought he was a handful and too arrogant, for his own good.  
Nope I wasn't planning on going tonight!  
He would just have to sit there, in his classroom, at his desk, waiting for me, realising too late, he was going to spent this evening, alone.

But that meant escaping.  
Leaving the Castle all together.  
At least, that was what I thought, was the best thing to do in a situation like this.  
If Professor Black got it in his head, to come and look for me, he would never in his wildest dreams, believe I wasn't inside 'these' walls.  
And come for me, he would. At least that's what Kaylee told me, he would do. I didn't dare doubt her.

Now how was I ever going to accomplish, pulling off the greatest escape in my Hogwarts History? You ask me…

I knew for a fact that the Gryffindor common room, would probably be the first place, Black would look for me.  
So hiding out in here, was a bad idea.  
Conclusion: I couldn't stay!

But that meant I had to go somewhere else…  
I remember my next thought being, somewhere along the lines off;  
Perhaps somewhere else inside the castle, would be safe.  
I could roam the hallways after dark.  
Problem was, we were not allowed though, to roam the hallways after curfew.  
If I was going to do something as hazardous as that, I had to make sure, that I did not run into a Prefect or Headboy, on their rounds.

-Yet- I had an excuse, if I got caught, right?  
'I simply would be on my way, to serve detention with Professor Black'  
No, that wasn't going to work…..Sighing loudly, I dismissed the idea.  
Realising that, those nasty 'figures' would probably make sure, they'd left me in, the good Professor his care, instead of leaving me all alone.

There was also the chance, of running into people, along the way.  
That, I needed to minimise, as much as possible.  
The less people saw me, the less people could provide Black with information about my whereabouts.  
The more, he would struggle to actually find me.

I already knew, how I was going to accomplish that, though.  
To avoid being seen by others, I would use the many secret passageways, located all around Hogwarts.  
Which meant this problem was solved.

The front doors however, turned out to be a bit of a pickle.  
I didn't know much about them, yet I figured Filch probably had closed them, earlier tonight.  
Locking them at the same time.  
Maybe they were even hooked up, to some sort of alarm system.  
Seeing as they didn't want unwanted people getting in, let alone letting students out.  
I couldn't be sure if I could leave the castle, through them,  
without somebody finding out.

So I needed a way out of the castle without having to actually use the front doors.  
Luckily however, I remembered something important the Weasley twins once told me, about a special trapdoor, leading well away from the Castle. However I had never used that one before.  
What if they had lied to me?  
Was I going to put all my faith, in something that might turn out to be a fairytale?

It was my only option. So…Yes I was!  
If it turned out to be untrue, I could also figure out a plan B.  
My mind was made up!

I was going for it.

If only humanity, had the ability to look through walls and doors…  
Just imagine for a moment, what that would be like.  
Than people would exactly know, what went on behind them.  
We would have nothing to hide.

Cause….be honest, most people, hide another personality, behind who they appear to be in real life.  
Its got something to do with; wanting to be socially acceptable.  
Some do it on purpose, because they are afraid not to fit in.  
Others without even realising it.

I've always wondered what people would find, if they were to observe me. What would they find noticeable?  
How would I appear to them?  
Perhaps they noticed, I ate in a peculiar kind of way, or that I had some crazy hobbies.

Perhaps they would see Professor Flitwick levitating himself, to reach the top shelve of a bookcase.  
or Mistress McGonagall, sporting black leather knee-high boots and a riding crop.  
Agh, Merlin! Now I've a mental picture of that, stuck in my head!  
Anyway, who knows….

I do know however, what people would have found if they had been walking past the DADA office.  
For I've seen it happen multiple times during that year.  
Seeming as I spent most of my detentions in that very room.

*At the DADA Office...*  
Black was found spinning round and round in his chair, simply passing the time.  
He just loved doing that, acting like a big kid from time to time.  
He liked the way it made him feel, like he didn't have a care in the world. Especially when he knew nobody was watching.  
"WWEEEEEEEEEeee"  
Sometimes he was just glad that nobody had X-ray vision, for people would probably think, that he had lost his marbles.  
But Black was just bored, and when he was bored he got obnoxiously irritating.  
He did, what any sane person would do in his eyes.

Simply trying to enjoy the moment...  
While at the same time trying to fight off the dullness of daily life.

He had been grading papers before all this, and was now waiting for it to become 20:30pm.  
That specific time meant, detention with Miss Frye.  
It surprised him somewhat, that he actually was looking forward to seeing her again.  
Especially after this mornings' lesson.

He was glad now that he had, had that talk with Miss McCartney, before meeting her friend again.  
Otherwise things might become awkward quickly.  
Honestly, that was one thing he wanted to avoid as much as possible tonight.  
He needed her to trust him, at least enough for her to share some of her problems with him.  
A mission he deemed quite impossible.

When Miss Frye had ran out on him during class, he had felt like he was to blame for things.  
But it turned out to be something completely different.  
At least if he should believe her Slytherin friend.  
And who could ever believed a Slytherin?!

The fact that she couldn't properly use her wand, was new to him though.  
No teacher had told him about it, not even the Headmaster.  
Sure, he had notice her fumble around during his classes every now and then.  
But this was poles apart from what he had expected it to be.  
He had figured that either, the subject DADA had not been entirely her thing, for she struggled so much during it.  
Or that she was just goofing around, screwing up on purpose.  
Trying to get his attention, like all the other girls were doing.  
According to him, she did come across as somewhat indifferent.  
But in the end neither assumption had seemed to be the case.

He had never heard about a witch or wizard, not being able to use a wand.  
Let alone see it with his own eyes. So that posed to be a problem.  
He figured, if anyone might have heard about, there being others like her, it would be some of the other teachers.  
But when he ask Minerva and Albus about it, they both we unable to help him further.  
They did however admitted, that they had been aware of Miss Frye her problems.  
Which he actually had found odd.  
Why had they, not tried to help her fix things?  
Had they given up on her…? he wondered,

Or maybe she had given up on herself, on ever fixing the problem.  
Accepting the fact that she never would be able to 'wave a wand like a normal wizard'  
If what Miss McCartney had shared with him was true, he could only assume she had.  
Yet, he would like to here it coming from her mouth.

He wasn't so sure though, if 'THAT' Slytherin was to be trusted.  
In all honesty, Sirius Black didn't care all that much for said 'breed' of students.  
Yet some odd feeling, told him he might be, at least, when it came to her Gryffindor friend Miss Frye.  
It appeared to him, that in some twisted universe, a relationship had managed form between the two girls.  
Even though that should have been physically and mentally impossible.  
He couldn't being to fathom, how a Gryffindor could stand being around a Slytherin for that long.  
Let alone form a friendship.  
He sure as hell could not.  
Hah, the mere thought of him becoming friends with that greasy bat of the dungeons!  
The thought alone seemed so preposterous!

However during their little talk, Miss McCartney had roughly explained the whole situation to him.  
How Miss Frye had not been able to use her wand properly, during the start of their first year.  
Only back then, the faults had consisted only of minor malfunctions.  
But as the years past, things slowly had started to escalate, until lately things had rapidly started spiralling out of control.  
Causing her to end up in the Hospital Wing, numerous of times.

Though even with all this information, he still didn't quite understand, how something as strange as this, was even possible.  
Did Olivander make as mistake as he gave this girl her wand?  
Impossible.  
No, he really wanted to hear Fryes' intake on the whole situation.  
Perhaps there was something, she hadn't told her friend about.  
A missing key element, which would clear up the whole situation.

'The Slytherin' had shared with him; how she had tried to teach her friend, on numerous occasions, on how to use her wand in a proper way.  
But failing miserably time and time again.  
Apparently Miss McCartney wanted nothing more for this to stop, but could not do seem to fix this on her own.

At the end of the conversation, she even confided in him, how worried she was for her friends well-being.  
A thing which uniquely surprised him!  
It was during that time, that he had tasted some kind of loyalty for the Gryffindor, coming from the Slytherin.  
A most peculiar thing.

Somewhere along the line, McCartney must have guessed his train of thoughts, for he had not spoken his assumptions out loud.  
But before she left him to his own devices, she had turned around one last time.  
Speaking the famous words, which had haunted him up till now;  
"I'm not disloyal, my loyalty is just highly selective."  
All in all, it turned out to be a most interesting little chat.  
Sirius knew one thing though, you needed to watch yourself, when dealing with a Slytherin.  
Especially this one! She may hold a soft spot for the Gryffindor girl, but that did not mean she held one for him.  
He was sure of that.

Luckily for him though, he had no real reason to associate himself with her.  
He just needed her friend to 'cooperate.'  
Ouch!  
The thought alone made him cringe, it almost seemed like he was using her.  
Almost felt like that to him, and perhaps he was, yet at the same time there was something about the girl that sparked his interest.

She didn't act all googly eyed, when being around him.  
Not like many of the other students, were already seemed to be smitten over him.  
He had quite forgotten, what it felt like back in the days.  
Being in Azkaban, for so long, caused you to forget about certain things.  
And somehow, the things that used to feel important to him, now just felt meaningless, empty.

He liked that fact that, Frye ignored his good looks and pleasant demeanour.  
No, instead she openly chose to mock him and his 'posy'  
Which, truth be told, he desperately wanted to do for himself.

Merlin, even if he thought about them, he could feel himself get frustrated.  
They could be so annoying at times, pestering him as they swarmed around him.

He figured, he had to be nice to them.  
Simply because of the fact, that he was their teacher, and because he wanted them to trust him. (being an old Azkaban inmate and all)  
But this was getting ridiculous!  
He did not want to give them hope, where there was none.  
And for one he was done, wooing school girls.

Nope, he actually liked the fact, that he had to endure her verbal abuse.  
However, unlucky for her, one of his unwritten rules was:  
'if you dish it out you have to be able to take it'

Sirius always had thought himself to be, the kind of person that would not give up on somebody.  
He was a human being, and a teacher at that.  
It just so happened to turn out that Snape had appointed Frye, as one of the students he had to use on winning 'The Bet.'  
Getting on the girl's good side, was a must after that.  
But no, he would help her, as a person and a teacher.

In the light of things, he had taken the liberty to sneak a peak at her grades, with were mostly graded from Acceptable to Good, except for the classes she actually needed to use a wand in. For example: Charms, Transfigurations, and DADA. Those classes were mainly graded Dreadful or Troll.  
If anything, a lot of work needed to be done, in order for her to catch up.

After dinner he had decided to owl his best friend, Remus Lupin. He was a smart guy, at least compared to himself. Not that he thought he was dumb, but Remus always knew a way out of things, back when they were in school together. He had tried to explain things as carefully as he could in his letter. He even reread it, before sending it, using a owl from the school. Now all he could do was wait his friend to answer him.  
The whole thing truly left him worried.

He stopped spinning for a moment to eye the clock.  
It was currently 20:20pm…  
It wouldn't be long now before she would show up.  
If anything he was keen, to find out more about her 'problem'  
It was the main reason he set this detention.  
He simply wanted to find out more!  
Not to punish her for storming out on him.

With a wave of his wand, he put on a kettle of tea.  
It was the least he could do to make the girl feel at ease around him.  
He was sure that if he would offered her a nice cup of freshly brewed tea, she would eventually warm up to him.  
Or at least feel a bit less uncomfortable around him.

20:30pm came and went.  
Just like 20:35pm did.  
Where was she?! He found himself wondering.

Where was that good for nothing girl!  
He had made sure, she knew about the time being 20:30pm  
He had told Miss McCartney, who was suppose to tell her friend.  
He even had sent her an owl during dinner time.  
She had gotten his message.  
He had seen his owl swoop in, and peck the crap out of her.

For a moment he considered if maybe he should have warned her, about his bird not being bite prove.  
But where would have been the fun in that?  
He had also seen her reaction.  
He had never seen a more convincing death glare, on a students face. Except perhaps for her best friend.  
She had some guts. And yet, here he it 20:40pm and still no Miss Frye.  
He had a bad feeling about this.  
She was a no show…

How dare she!

He found himself, reaching for the bottom drawer of his desk and taking out a familiar piece of parchment.  
His oldest, most trusted, non breathing friend. The Marauders Map.  
It normally was disguised as a blank piece of parchment.  
But those who knew how to use it, could find something completely different in it.  
He had to thank Harry for returning it to him.  
Boy this sure brought back some fun memories.  
If anyone knew where Miss Frye was, this baby would.

Sirius found himself drawing his wand again, just like he had done so many times before.  
Tapping the Map once, with the tip of it, he muttered… "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."  
And before he knew it, the contents of the map revealed itself, in front of his eyes.

' _Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers  
are proud to present  
THE MARAUDER'S MAP_'

Pretty soon his own nickname was spelled out in front of him.  
It felt odd to see it again, in this form, and after so many years.  
It felt even weirder though, to see those of his former friends.  
He had lost contact with all of them, during his imprisonment.  
Or to be completely honest, he had lost James and Peter before that.

 _'Prongs'_ James Potter had died during an attack by Voldemort. He and his wife Lily had been betrayed by _'Wormtail'_ Peter Pettigrew.  
It was Sirius however, who received the blame for it all.  
12 years he spend in Azkaban, 12 years…  
So naturally all contact with Peter was shortly lived. If he ever found himself face to face with that scumbag, he would personally kill him. That is if Lupin did not manage to talk him out of it.  
Azkaban would be a much more appropriate place.  
Let Peter rot behind bares for a few years.  
Sirius wasn't a vindictive person, but he had to admit, when it came to Wormtail, he might just be able to commit a murder.

Luckily after his name was cleared, _'Moony'_ Lupin returned.  
It was Sirius who had sought contact with his old friend. Well aware of the fact that his friend might turn him down after so many years. But after many owls from his side, his 'friend' finally seemed to see reason. Admitting that it sounded much more plausible, that Peter had been a mole.  
Lupin confessed, that all those years he had, had trouble getting his mind around that fact, that Sirius had been the one to betray James.  
When in fact those two boys, had been two pees in a pot, according to him.

He had thought though, that after some many years the Map was lost.  
They had lost sight of it, when Filch had confiscated it during their last year at Hogwarts.  
But here it was, back in the possession of _'Padfoot'_ one of its makers.

Before his eyes the parchment came to life;  
 _"*Prongs is glad to see his old friend again,  
*Moony agrees with Prongs and likes to add that he finds it funny that Padfoot ever becomes a teacher.  
*Prongs wonders were things went so horribly wrong in Padfoots life, to become what he hated so much,  
*Wormtail agrees with both boys_

 _*Padfoot shakes his head and simply can't believe his eyes."_  
Sirius couldn't help but smile as the words appeared in front of his eyes.  
He had to admit though, if someone would have told his younger self, that one day he would be a teacher, he would have laughed at them.  
Not willing to believe, no not wanting to believe.  
Yet, he would be lying, if he said that he did not enjoy it now.  
He was actually glad he had accepted the job.  
Who would have thought so…

Chuckling softly while shaking his head, he spread the Map open on top of his desk. "Now lets see what we've got here" he mumbled to himself, as he leaned over to get a better look of the Map.  
He first zoomed in on the Gryffindor tower. After some thorough searching he at least knew one thing… She wasn't at the tower.  
Which meant she could be any were.  
Complications…Complications, the thought while sighing.  
Come on where is she? he thought, feeling slightly annoyed.

Then he checked the most likely road she could be taking to his office.  
Figuring that perhaps she was running late, even though something in his bones told him that was not the case.  
But he drew a blank yet again.

After that he pretty much searched every bit of the castle.  
The tea kettle, resting on his desk, completely forgotten.  
That's when he spotted her, heading towards the castle doors.  
"Shit!"  
She was running!

What in Merlin's name, he thought while slamming his fist down on the desk.  
Immediately he was on his feet, reaching for his coat, wand and Map as he ran out the door.  
A second later, a lone teacup, hit the ground and broke into many tiny pieces.  
But Sirius did not notice, or either did not care, as he cased after her.

Not for the first time, Sirius was glad that his office was located on the second floor, and not on the sixth.  
However Black did not intent to use the normal route, which eventually would lead him to the front doors.  
It simply would take way too much time.  
No, he knew of a shortcut near his chambers.

It so happened he remembered a certain portrait…  
The one with the witch in the red dress, whose back he had scratch back when he was still in his teens.  
Who knew that years later, he would find himself doing the exact same thing.  
The witch shot him a cheeky grin before disappearing.  
Thus opening a hidden passageway for him.

One quick glance at the Map told him she was still moving at top speed.  
No, actually she already was outside!  
Moving away from the entrance fast.  
He had to get a move on if he wanted to catch her.

*Escape Plan*  
I found myself glancing at my watch, only to find that I had thirty minutes left. It was exactly eight o'clock.  
Now was as good a time as any, to put my plan into motion.  
I figured whatever happened, happened.  
I closed my books, put down my quill and went to take one last toilet break. Slipped into my coat and headed out the door.  
All I needed now, was a little bit of luck.  
And I would be free from Black and his stupid detention.

* A little fast forward*  
HahahaH!  
I just couldn't believe my luck, as I found myself making my way through an unfamiliar passage way.  
Turns out, the Weasley Twins had spoken the truth about there being a secret way out of Hogwarts.  
I had been familiar with the one leading to Honeydukes, but never with the one that brought me directly past the front gates.  
It was so practical, I might use it more often.  
But never would I tell a soul about it. Well except maybe Kaylee.  
For certain secrets were just too good to be shared.

As soon as my head popped up, from below the ground, I felt the fresh air assault my lungs.  
Oh how I had missed the outdoors.  
Hah, that sounds funny right!  
A normal person wouldn't pop up from below the ground, like that.  
But as you all might know, anything goes at Hogwarts.  
It somehow made me feel like I was Bugs Bunny. A character from a muggle cartoon, I loved watching during my free time.  
Bugs Bunny, was in fact a rabbit. Which perhaps might explain the habit of popping up, from out of the ground.  
Anyways, I was free!  
No detention for me!

Or so I thought….

*At the lake*  
I found my usual spot, next to a giant willow.  
During the summer time, I always climbed the tree and sat myself down on one of its nice sturdy branches.  
It was a great place to read, or reminisce about life, and nobody seemed to notice you were up there.  
Which meant nobody came to disturb you.  
It felt like heaven to me.  
Even Kaylee knew, that it was best to leave me alone during those times.  
Only tonight, I didn't climb up, I just sat down at the base of the tree.  
Down on the cool soft grass.

But before I did though, I just had to do a little victory dance of my own!  
'WOOAaaaww!' 'I GOT OUT OF DETENTION!' 'JIPPPIIEEEEEE!'  
My mind was screaming triumphantly.  
While at the same time I found myself jumping around like crazy, venting some of my extra energy. If anybody would see me now, they would probably think I'd lost my mind. You know that adrenaline rush you get after doing something you know you shouldn't have done? But you did do it anyway?  
Well that was what was bothering me…  
And it felt GOOD!

However, when the first taste of euphoria had past, another taste came rolling in with a vengeance.  
Its name:  
GUILT

Here I was, feeling like nothing could best me, that everything was perfect, and that I could conquer the world, if need be on my own.  
And yet somehow, somewhere, the poles had started to shift quite suddenly.  
Leaving me, with every fibre of my being screaming;  
'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! NO!'  
'He'll be SO mad at you. You're going to get expelled!'

"Damned Christine!" I muttered to myself, trying to shake off, the sudden feeling of panic, and at the same time putting a stop to my train of thoughts. If I could have kicked myself in that moment, I would have.  
You see, I was a firm believer of self punishment.  
Not that it ever helped though, it just made things worse.  
It was a habit off mine, I was desperate to quit at times.  
Or at least needed to control.

"You chose this option, now you stick with it!" I snapped at myself.  
'But..'  
My mind countered.  
"No buts! You said it yourself, whatever happens…. happens"  
I clamped my lips shut, as if physically putting an end to my mental protesting.  
Hah! As if that would help!  
But at the same time realizing, but all too well, that I was not going to be able to enjoy this moment.  
The damage had been done.  
ME and my stupid morals!

I sank down to the floor, in a angry fashion.  
Planting my ass down, at the bottom of the tree.  
The jacket I had brought with me, lay forgotten on the ground, next to me.  
It turned out to be, not nearly as cold as I had anticipated. It could have been a pleasant evening to spent outside…  
If only I would stop ruining it for myself.  
And that would never happen.

Out of no where, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand on end.  
Realising, quite suddenly, I wasn't alone anymore.  
I'm not sure what gave it away though, for there had not been any signs of it.  
No sounds of leaves being crunched under foot, no rustling noises.  
Nothing touchable at that.  
Just a mere feeling, which grew more prominent as time passed.  
A nagging sensation…

A shadow suddenly broke away from the tree line, coming at me, at high speed.  
The moment I realised what was happening, it was already too late to make a run for it.  
He was just a movement, in the corner of my eyes.  
A dark silhouette, in a ever darker growing night.  
Yet the reaction he caused within me, was enormous.  
I still remember thinking, 'no fucking way!'

Even though I didn't know it was Professor Black, at that time.  
My gut, simply told me, it was.  
In Merlins' name, who else could it be?  
No one else knew I was out here, and I was pretty sure nobody had seen me leave, earlier this night.  
'So how did he find me anyway?!' I wondered.  
It simply was beyond me.

The minute, I registered what was about to go down, I tried my best to get away.  
I wasn't sure if I would be able to get away in time though.  
He was a grown man, and was probably much faster and stronger than me.  
No, honestly my chances didn't look so bright.  
Simply giving up, and let myself being caught, would have been the easiest of the two.  
Yet, I wasn't sure what he would do afterwards.  
I figured he would probably drag me back towards the DADA Classroom, scolding me the entire way.  
An outcome, I didn't feel much for…..

There it was again, that distinctive feeling of guilt, slashing through my gut.  
Tearing me open from the inside out. If I had simply gone to detention, I could have avoided all of this.  
But damned!  
How could I have foreseen this happening….

If only I had known.  
Would I have acted differently?

For a split second, I remembered Poppy's words, she had spoken to me;  
"I think you've found your match in Professor Black"  
but I quickly shook my head, dismissing the words altogether.  
'That would never happen!' I thought feeling determined.

Damned I had hoped to avoid confrontation! At least for tonight, that is.  
I would have figured something out in the morning.  
Perhaps Professor Black would have giving up by then.  
Just like the other teachers had over time.  
Realising, that I didn't want to talk to them.  
Didn't want to share my problems!  
And now it was simply too late…

Letting myself get caught, wasn't an option.  
Leaving me with the only alternative left, which was running!

Like an acrobat I rolled over onto my stomach, drew my knees up under me, and raised myself up to kneeling position.  
I felt like an athlete, getting ready to run, as soon as the start sign was given.  
When it came, I would be out of there, like a bullet shot out of a gun.  
At the same time, the muscles of my calves gotten more taut as I raised my butt a little bit higher off the ground, then the rest of my body.  
Angling my body so, that I would be able to push off from a good position.  
Making damn sure, no precious time would be wasted.

The whole thing just happened in mere seconds.  
If it would have taken me any longer, he would already have been on me.  
*BANG* a mental gun got fired, signalling it was time to leave…

'Get out of there girl now!' my mind screamed, just after I had glanced over my shoulder one last time.  
He appeared to be, too close for comfort already!  
It was either now or never….

But the moment I pushed off, I felt my legs slipping out from under me.  
The grip I thought I had, turned out to be non-existent.  
Resulting in a spectacular nose dive, sending me crashing to the cold hard ground.  
I did however manage, to get a few fists full of grass, before I was wrestled to the ground.  
So much for that pity attempt…

"Gotcha!" the rough voice of Professor Black rang through the air, confirming my worst fears.  
It was him!  
Slowly realisation sank in, and a queasy feeling lodged itself in the pit of my stomach.  
The game was up.

At the same time, a pair of strong arms latched itself around my ankles, like a boa constrictor around its prey.  
Getting ready to devour it.  
I must admit though, the comparison my mind came up with, was pretty disturbing.  
Even to me, the one who had thought it up.  
The owner to whom the arms belonged to, had a firm grip on my trousers and appeared to certainly have no intention on letting me slip out of his  
grasp any time soon. 'Shit!'  
"Let go off me!" I snapped.

I trying to wiggle free out of his grasp, feeling almost desperate to do so.  
But this only resulted, in my attacker trying to pull himself towards me.  
Better said, on top off me.  
"You must think me crazy, Miss Frye" My attacker chuckled, sounding somewhat amused.  
".…I just caught you…"

I realised that in just a few seconds, I would be trapped underneath him.  
That would be devastating, let alone highly uncomfortable!  
So improper student and teacher like behaviour.  
"…What gives you the idea I'd set you free again?" Using his weight, he held me down,  
his hands going for my wrists in the meantime.  
Pretty soon he caught them both, and twisted them round behind my back. Pinning them there.  
A knee was pushed in the small of my back.

"Oh I don't know…" I answered meaningfully.  
"….Perhaps this…."  
"AAAHHHHHHHHH" letting out an ear piercing scream.

Black froze up on the spot, hesitating for a moment, I could already feel his grasp slipping from me.  
However I failed to use that moment.  
Totally missing the momentum to get away from him. _'really?!…'_

"Will you shut up girl!"  
Placing a hand over my mouth he muffled my cries.

The image of me biting him came to mind, but I quickly dismissed the thought.  
As much as I wanted too, I just couldn't stoop so low.

"Merlin girl! I think you managed to make my eardrums bleed."  
"I'll make a deal with you though. If you promise not to run and scream again, I'll let you go" he stated.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at this.  
"Do we have a deal?" He questioned me once more.

I found myself nodding my head ever so slightly, sighing somewhat defeated.  
I figured, there was nothing else I could do, to escape.  
So the only option I had left, was giving up.

The first thing he did was uncover my mouth.  
….I refrained from screaming.

The second thing he did was, releasing my arms.  
…. Thank God, for they were starting to cramp up.  
The third thing he did was, shift most of his body weight.  
…. I'm not even gonna comment on that.

The second he lifted his knee, from my back, I pushed off the ground.  
Managing to slam the back of my head onto his noise.  
OUCH!  
Sending Black careening backwards, while holding his noise.

"OMG I'm Sorry"  
I sat there looking a little sheepishly.  
Good God, was I the cause of this?!  
However I couldn't stop smiling as the tables were suddenly reversed.  
Professor Black was rolling around on the grass, holding his nose.  
Moaning and blinking away the tears in his eyes.

Again', this would be a good moment to escape, yet the sight before me was so comical that I stayed put.

"What was that about!" Black snapped after a minutes.  
Clearly most of the pain had subdued by now and he was ready to yell at me again.  
To be honest, I had been asking myself the same question…  
Why had I reacted the way I had?!

"I just don't like being held" I explained calmly, like it was nothing important.  
I remembered during that moment; that it had taken me quite some time, before I had gotten used to Kaylee and receiving her hugs.  
And Kaylee could become quite clingy.  
Especially with a few glasses of Firewhiskey in her system.  
A thing, that at the time, thoroughly surprised me.  
For she seemed to be such a standoffish person, at first glance.

When you would have asked me years ago, why I reacted the way I did, I wouldn't have been able to answer you.  
I just didn't know any better.  
Years later however, I would realise, that this was a result of the fact that, in my family, love just was not shown in an affectionate manner.  
Not even between my parents.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" I asked, trying to change the subject.  
I didn't want to discuss things any further.  
Luckily for me, Black complied and got onto his feet, drawing himself up to full height, brushing some of the dirt off at the same time.

"I could ask you the same question!" Black countered a few seconds later, after assessing that his nose was still in one piece.

"I was hiding from you!" I simply stated, causing him to look at me funny.  
Black cocked an eyebrow at me.  
Clearly, he was surprised by my honestly.  
I realised in that moment, he probably thought I would have lied about the obvious.  
But I figured, why should I.  
He was smart enough to do the math for himself.  
So me denying things wouldn't help.  
"What's it too you…?!"

"Believe it or not, I was looking for you" Black countered.  
His answer caused me to frown, yet somehow that did not surprise me in the least.  
It did however cause me to wonder how he had accomplished such a thing.  
From my point of view, that should have been virtually impossible.  
Resulting in only one explanation, Black was a force to the reckoned with.

"Well you found me. Now get lost!"  
I snapped while crossing my arms and turning my back on him.  
Not for the first time that night, I wondered why I had done, what I had done.  
But if I was honest to myself, I knew the answer to that question.

I had not been in the mood, to go and see Professor Black.  
To start with, he would only ask me questions about my 'wand problem'  
Then there was the fact that, I did not want him, to point out to me, that it was in fact a serious problem.  
(I knew that, but did my best to make myself forget…)  
And most importantly, I did not want for him, to promise me, that he was going to help me solve it.  
In the end, he would only get my hopes up, get me to believe again.  
And when he realised that nothing could be done about it, he would start to ignore me. Pretending that the problem did not exist.  
That I, did not exist…  
I had seen it happen time and time again.  
People turning away from me, when they realised that there was no glory to be gained, in not being able to solve an important problem.  
So they just pretended they had not been involved with me, in the first place.  
Like McGonagall and Dumbledore for instance.  
They might not seem like that kind of person to you, but trust me, they are.

Things like that hurt though, cut me deep.  
When I realised that, that was all I had meant to them.  
It left a deep invisible scar within me.  
One that would probably heal over time, but never quite gotten the chance to do so…  
As some people managed to trick me, time and time again.  
Getting me to believe in them.  
Was I that naive, or just hopeful?  
I hoped, it was the latter.  
Until I found a trick that actually worked, that kept 'those kind of people' at bay.  
My anger, had become an impenetrable armour.  
Shunning away anyone with bad intensions.  
But also sometimes, keeping others, who in fact meant well, out…

"You would like that, now would you?! " Black challenged, pulling me out of my reminiscing.  
I had to blink a couple of times, before I realised what was actually going down…  
Dear Lord, was he meeting my challenge?  
The mere thought, threw me off balance. For most of the time, people would simply disappear after an outburst like that.  
Yet here he was, standing his ground, against me.  
This was not going as I expected it would…  
Houston we have a problem!  
Fine, if he wanted to play this game, so would I.

"As a matter of fact yes. Yes I do!" I snapped, angling my body so, that I had a clear view of his profile.  
It had gotten so dark now, that I couldn't see his face anymore.  
"What make you think I would want to see the likes of you?" I snapped.

I feared that; he had gotten the idea, of being my own personal saviour, in his tick head.  
If that was indeed to be the case, I would have to make him forget about it, as soon as possible.  
Before the idea would get stuck in his head, and had become one of his personal mantras.  
That realisation alone, was enough to make me feel helpless.  
Resulting in me landing a cheap shot…  
"If it had been up to me, you'd still be in Azkaban!"  
But hey, it was the only power I processed to stop him, from even trying in the first place. To protect myself from other failure…  
From getting hurt…

The dark silhouette, in front of me, seemed to shrink significantly after that. Clearly my words had hit their mark.  
Somehow I had managed to find one of his weak spots, and caused quite a lot of internal damage…  
I watched as he turned from me, rather abruptly.  
It felt like he was telling me, I had crossed an invisible line, and he was not having any of it.  
Any sane person, would have threatened me with a whole week of detention, served with Filch.

Yet Black said nothing.  
…Absolutely nothing…  
…Which was even worse….

To say, I felt like, he was disappointed with me, was an understatement.  
It felt like he was giving up on me all together.  
It felt like, if I would let him walk away now, we would never get past our differences.  
Our whole relationship would be plain awkward, for the rest of the school year.  
With me sitting in the back of class, constantly feeling on edge.  
And him, at the front of the room, doing his best to avoid dealing with me.  
Honestly, it was exactly, what I wanted.  
Yet, why did it make me feel like crap, on the inside?!

Somehow, I could not let that happen.  
An overwhelming feeling, suddenly came over me.  
I could not let him leave, not like this. Not when he was openly suffering, over something I had caused.  
I maybe a bitch from time to time, but that does not mean I don't have a conscience.  
One, that was giving me quite a lot of grieve, at the moment!

' _Oh for heavens sake woman, swallow your pride and do something!_ _'  
_ I thought almost frantically, as I noticed he was already on the retreat.  
Pretty soon I would be all alone…

Luckily, as soon at the words came to mind, I found my body automatically acting on it.  
I found myself taking a step forward, grabbing hold of his garments.  
Realising, that if he left now, this would never be resolved.  
Nope, definitely no pressure here!

The sudden touch, caused Professor Black to stop in his tracks, and angle his head so,  
that he was just about to see me, from out the corner of his eyes.

I still wonder what it was, he saw that night…  
"Don't go… please…" the words barely a whisper, as they left my lips.  
At first, I wasn't even sure if he had heard me utter them.  
But the fact that he was still here, made me hopeful.  
Hopeful enough that I dared to press on…

"…That was terribly inconsiderate of me"  
Only now, I realised how heavy my heart felt inside my chest. Just looking at him, from this proximity, caused my stomach to turn into a knot.  
"Azkaban, isn't a place to joke about…" my voice trailing off at the end.  
For a moment there was nothing but silence between us, we just looked each other in the eye.  
"I admit it was a cheap shot."

"Can you forgive me?"  
I found him staring at me, dumbfounded.  
His gaze constantly shifting between me, and the hand that was still holding onto his jacket.  
WAIT A MINUTE!  
Holding on to him?! I thought in horror.  
OMG, What must he think of me!

In sheer blind panic I dropped his jacket, and stumbled while taking a few steps back.  
Getting some distance between the two of us, seemed important suddenly.  
If he noticed my weird reaction, he didn't comment on it.  
He did however, reach out and steady me, preventing me from falling.  
I felt a flicker of hope, as he fully turned towards me, facing me once more.  
Staring down at me, for a few seconds, he was clearly assessing my honesty.

"I think I can manage doing that Miss Frye" The deep timber of Professor Black, his voice, bringing me some respite.  
It was then, that I felt a small smile break through on my face. Hopeful, that's how I felt.

However…  
"Guess we will just have to add another hour to your detention."  
….And gone was my smile…  
 _Seriously!_ I thought.  
I noticed how Black, couldn't help but smile, at the sight of my fallen face.  
 _Of course!_ I thought, while feeling annoyed. _Now you are having fun!_

"No, honestly I deserved that somewhat." Black confessed to my surprise.  
"I scared you I shouldn't have. I'm your teacher. I should be someone you can trust"  
Once again facing me. "…You can, you know"

I didn't know how to respond to this though.  
And when I didn't.  
Black simply continued….

"I guess we kind of started off on the wrong foot, didn't we?" he sounded so sincere in that moment,  
that I found myself nodding automatically, suddenly finding it hard to meet his eyes.  
I hated admitting I had done something wrong. Even though I knew the reason, why I had reacted the way I had.  
It was unforgivable, I had hurt someone thanks to it. Especially someone, who did not understand.  
I wanted for Black to hate me, but he did not deserve to be treated this way.  
Which made it damn hard to be a total asshole to him.

"I'm Sirius Black, your trustworthy Hogwarts DADA Professor " He introduced himself, while offering his hand to me.  
His description on himself alone, was enough to make me laugh.  
I couldn't help but eye his hand warily, for a moment, before taking it.

"Christine Frye. 'Chris' for my friends. Honest to a fault, stubborn with a vengeances."  
That last part made Sirius chuckle.  
I shot him an challenging look.

"You don't say… I had not noticed yet." Black chuckled.  
"This doesn't mean I will go easy on you, from now on." I added quickly.  
Not wanting him to think I was surrendering to him.  
He wasn't my friend.  
And I certainly was not his!

"Good, I don't want you too" he countered while sporting a smirk.  
Something told me that he meant what he had said.  
Call it intuition.  
I concluded that Black was an interesting guy.

"You know you kind of surprised me there, not showing up and all" he added while shooting me a sideways glance.  
His honest words made me cringe, as I felt his gaze linger on me for a tad to long for comfort.  
"Yet now I see where you were going, I totally understand." he continued, all the while ignoring my stupid looks and looking at his surroundings.

"I just love these grounds during the summer time, especially during the day time, I used to come here a lot with my friends, during one of those free periods." Sirius elaborated.

"Your friends?" I questioned him out loud.  
Somehow I found it hard for me to picture him in his teen years.  
I mean he was hard to grasp as it was, in the present state.  
Not that I was remotely interested!  
But I figured that, if I could keep him talking, that might mean he would forget about the real reason, why he was here in the first place.  
He looked at me in that moment.  
With a look, that made him seem much older somehow.  
So much emotion was swirling in the depths of his eyes, that it caught me off guard.  
I didn't say anything about it though, not willing to dispel the mood he was in.  
Suddenly feeling eager, for him to share some of his past with me.  
I wanted to know what had brought on, this sudden change.  
He held my gaze for some time, without speaking.  
And only when I tore my gaze away from him, did he speak.

"We were quite the foursome/quartet, back in the days. Always causing mischief. Especially James and Me, we were the ringleaders. The Marauders, we called ourselves.… Always up to no good." I noticed that he sounded quite proud about that.  
The thought of Black being a troublemaker made me laugh.

Black was staring out into the distance, like he was seeing something I could not.  
"All four of us were Gryffindors. Merlin, how I miss those times, running around carefree with my mates." He sighted loudly.  
Shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked lonely somehow. I don't know why I did what I did after that.  
I guess it just felt right.  
I slowly walked up behind him, and placed a hand against the back of his shoulder.

For a moment his eyes met mine, before looking away again at something in the distance.  
"Then of course, there was Remus, who later on even became a Prefect.  
He would always, be the one, to get us out of trouble. And Peter of course, always following us around. I miss them…"

 _I miss them…?_ I found myself wondering. _Had they gone somewhere?  
_ He did not elaborate on the subject though. And I, Didn't have the heart to ask him. I just watched him for a moment, as he stood there, lost in thoughts. It was like he had forgotten I was there.

Then, as quick as it had started, he turned away from me, once again making for the castle.  
"I want to see you Friday!"  
My heart sank… and here I was, hoping he would let me off the hook.  
"I happened to get a hold of your time table, and apparently, you are free after your fifth period. It so happens that, so am I"  
"If you're not there I will come and get you personally."  
"And I will…find you" he threatened.

Somehow I didn't question his threat.  
I did not question it.  
He had done so today… So why not tomorrow?

"Black…" I called after him.  
Causing him to stop in his tracks.  
He angled his body so that he was facing me, an eyebrow raised in wonder.  
"You've got to tell me something. How did you find me today?"  
A smile broke across his face the way the sunrise sets the clouds on fire.  
Leaving me stunned.  
DAMN  
That should be forbidden!  
"A true wizard never reveals his secret"

"Stalker!"

To Be Continued…


End file.
